


Steve and the Unicorn

by LadyOscar



Category: Hawaii Five-O (1968)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Anal Sex, Case Fic, M/M, Oral Sex, Romance, Slash, Unicorns
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-07-09
Updated: 2015-03-14
Packaged: 2017-11-09 12:13:56
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 9,733
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/455331
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyOscar/pseuds/LadyOscar
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Steve and Danny learn a crucial fact about a string of murders in Hawaii, they must try to solve the case before there are more victims, even if they can't bring the rest of Five-O into their full confidence.  At the same time, after having certain secrets revealed to each other, they must confront the consequences to their personal and professional relationship.  A world with unicorns can be a complicated place....</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Shape of Things to Come

**Author's Note:**

  * For [senzarit (Janet)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Janet/gifts).



> I have no real excuse for this. It started nearly a year ago as a bit I wrote in response to a joking conversation, and then became a full-blown story after a plot bunny ran away with me. I've been working on it intermittently in an extremely self-indulgent way, and now that I've finally gotten "Three Perfectly Awful Days in Honolulu" posted, I'm throwing it out there in case anyone else would like to read it. (If for some reason anyone is wondering, don't worry, I'm also working on getting Part 5 of The Telephone Rang ready!)
> 
> This story is dedicated to [Senzarit](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Janet/pseuds/senzarit), whose true friendship through all kinds of weather means more to me than I can possibly express. I'd say you have kept me sane, but after reading this story, people might doubt that! So, I'll just say that you've kept me _writing_. (Everyone can decide for themselves whether or not they think that's a good thing.) :-P
> 
> I'd also like to mention that I was overjoyed to discover a few months ago that there is a Reboot Five-0 unicorn story! If you like the idea of unicorns and Five-O, please check out "[They Will Stare Unbelieving](http://archiveofourown.org/works/383499/chapters/627495)" by [Dreamwind](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Dreamwind/pseuds/Dreamwind).

_So, this is it,_ Steve McGarrett thought, staring down the barrel of Loren’s gun.  The meeting had been a ruse, designed to lure the head of Five-O out to this remote forest clearing where he could be disposed of.  In these final moments he was somewhat startled to realize that the face that flashed across his mind’s eye was that of his second-in-command.  _Goodbye, Danno,_ he thought, as Loren’s finger squeezed the trigger.

Suddenly, everything stopped making sense.  A golden brown shape exploded from the underbrush, slamming into McGarrett’s would-be killer, sending his gun flying.  Steve had simultaneously hurled himself backwards out of the line of fire, and he watched from a prone position as Loren, knocked sprawling, cried out in pain, his hand clapped to his shoulder, red blood flowing over his fingers.  Standing over him was, most improbably, a chestnut horse.

McGarrett’s knowledge of equine matters had subconsciously taken over, assessing the animal.  _Reddish chestnut, build of a quarter horse, but something else in there...a curly mane and tail...maybe some Friesian?  Two white socks on the hind feet,_ _and, unusual for a chestnut, blue eyes,_ he thought irrelevantly.  The horse snorted at the fallen thug, then turned to Steve.

And wasn’t a horse.

McGarrett blinked hard, then reached a hand up to rub his eyes.  When he lowered it again, the evidence was still in front of him, and, in fact, closer, as the creature approached him, whickering softly.  It began gently nuzzling him with its... _his_ , Steve corrected himself, as he noted the animal’s anatomy...soft muzzle, for all the world as though to check him for injuries.  He couldn’t help flinching slightly as the creature gently prodded his knee, since that brought the...oddness...of it a bit too close for comfort.

The _horn._

The animal looked like a normal handsome chestnut stallion.  With a golden-sheened spiraling eighteen-inch horn rising from the center of its forehead.

All this had happened so quickly that Steve was still lying on his back on the grass, propped up on his elbows, gazing in dumbfounded amazement at his rescuer.  He pushed himself up to a sitting position, carefully avoiding the horn, and brushed himself off.

“I’m fine,” he said, a bit self-consciously, but unable to shake the feeling that the...the _horse-thing_...his mind shied away from the other word...was worried about him.

The animal in question gave a snort, turned his head toward Loren, who looked frankly terrified, still clutching his bleeding shoulder, and crashed off into the underbrush again.

McGarrett crawled over to where Loren lay wide-eyed and apparently too stunned for speech.  “Let me see,” he ordered, moving the man’s hand aside.  There was a ragged hole through shirt and shoulder, surely created by the... _thing’s..._ horn.  Steve took out his handkerchief and put it over the wound, then replaced Loren’s hand, saying, “Keep pressure on it.  I called for backup on my way...they should get here any minute.”

As if on cue, Danny Williams came crashing through the same underbrush the chestnut creature had so recently emerged from.  He had clearly made the fastest time he could, and was gasping for breath, his clothing disheveled and bits of plants and debris in his curly hair, his gun drawn.

“Steve!” he called.  “I got your radio message.  Are you all right?”

“Yeah, Danno,” the head of Five-O assured him.  _I don’t know why, but I am...._

* * *

A few hours later McGarrett was sitting behind his desk staring unseeingly at a report when Danny came into the office with a keeper from the Honolulu Zoo, a dark-haired woman dressed in a uniform of polo shirt, khaki shorts, and boots, with a book tucked under one arm.

“Hi.  I’m Diane,” she said, crossing the office to shake hands with Steve as Danny came to sit perched in his favorite place on the corner of Steve’s desk.  “I hear you had an encounter with some sort of large, horned animal in the forest near Hau‘ula?”

“Yes.  I’m not...not quite sure what it was,” McGarrett told her, looking down at his desk.

Diane opened the book she carried to a marked place, reaching across the desk to set it in front of Steve.  “From the description Mr. Williams gave me, it sounds like it could have been one of the larger antelopes.  Look through this chapter and tell me if anything seems familiar.  Of course, I can assure you we’re not missing anything of the sort from the Zoo.”

Steve flipped through the book, trying to find something that at least looked plausibly like the...horse-thing.  “Hm...the horn...that is, the _horns,_ ” he quickly corrected himself, “were something like this,” he said, pointing to a picture of a chamois.  “But the animal was larger.”

“Often people imagine animals are larger than they really are, when they see them in a threatening situation,” Diane suggested.

“I suppose it’s possible,” McGarrett told her.  “I could swear it was more the size of a...a cow, though.”  He continued to flip through the pages.  “Maybe this?”  He turned the book to show her.

“The roan antelope?  They are large and can be aggressive if they feel threatened.  Native to Africa.  We don’t have any at the Zoo, and I can’t imagine keeping one as a pet, but people do strange things.  Possibly someone had some idea of setting up a game ranch for hunting,” she speculated.  “You can have Fish and Wildlife contact us if there are any more sightings.”

“Thank you for your help,” McGarrett told her, ushering her out of the office before returning to stand in front of the desk, facing his second-in-command.  “Danno....” he began, then stopped.  _What am I going to ask him, ‘Danno, do you believe in unicorns?’_

He started again.  “Danno, I want you to stay in touch with Fish and Wildlife.  This thing, whatever it is, is clearly dangerous.  But it...it might be an endangered species, so if possible I want them to bring it in unharmed.”  _Also, it saved my life today,_ he thought.

“Will do, Steve,” Danny said.  “And...I’m sorry I couldn’t get to you sooner back there.”

“You got there as quickly as you could,” his boss told him, giving him a pat on the shoulder.  _Something else had my back this morning...._


	2. An Unusual Courtroom

One night a week after Steve’s encounter in the forest clearing Danny woke to the knowledge that something was wrong.  The room was dark, but he could feel that he was not alone.

“Get the lights,” a male voice ordered.

Blinking in the sudden brightness, Danny saw six tall figures in his bedroom, five arrayed around the bed glowering down at him with folded arms, and one by the light switch.  _Well, I knew something like this was coming as soon as I saw that interview Loren gave the Star Advertiser,_ he thought.

“Get up and come with us,” the  one at the lamp ordered curtly.

 _I might as well face the music_.  _Even if I could get away now, sooner or later they’d catch up to me,_ Danny thought as he was marched from his building and seated in the back of a black car between two guards.

After a period of driving on city streets, they made their way up a winding road in poor condition, rising in elevation as the forest on either side grew denser, a smell of damp earth and vegetation in the air.  When the car stopped, Danny was marched into the forest and escorted along a narrow, muddy trail.  It wound through an overgrown tangle of trees and climbing plants, fallen leaves damp and slippery under his bare feet, the night a little chilly for pyjamas.  After walking a distance he found hard to judge, they reached a clearing, open to the starry night sky and lit by flickering torches.

The clearing was filled with activity.  Some individuals were bustling around setting out an array of folding tables and chairs, while others conferred in small groups.  A few were unclothed, but many wore loose belted robes or simple dresses.

The exceptions to the general dress code were the two individuals who walked up to Five-O’s second-in-command and his escort.  They were wearing sharply tailored suits and would have looked much more natural in a downtown office building.

“Nathaniel,” said the tall silvery-blonde, extending a hand to Danny.  “And this is my partner, Thomas,” he added, nodding to the shorter brown-haired lawyer at his side.  “We’re your counsel for the trial.”  He waved away Danny’s guards, ordering, “We need privacy to confer with our client.”

As the guards complied, there was a sudden swirl of movement in the clearing.  Another group of guards appeared, forcibly propelling a blindfolded man in dark blue pyjamas, his hands tied in front of him.

“Steve!” Danny cried in alarm.

“Danno?  Is that you?” McGarrett asked, turning his head in the direction of the voice.

The guards escorting the head of Five-O removed his blindfold and shoved him forward to join his second-in-command and the two lawyers.

McGarrett looked around the clearing.  “What the _hell_ is going on here?” he demanded.

“Steve, are you okay?” Danny asked anxiously.  There was a livid mark on McGarrett’s right cheekbone, and his pyjama shirt was torn, the top button gone.

“I’m fine, but I want to know why I was brought here and what’s happening,” McGarrett snapped.  “Danno, do you have any idea?”

“Steve...the other day, in the forest....” Danny began.

“Yes?” Steve asked, raising his eyebrows.

Danny took a deep breath.  “I was the unicorn.”

“How do you know about...wait, what do you mean?” McGarrett demanded.  “ _You_ were the...the....”

“Unicorn.  Unicorns are real.  We exist,” Danny told him flatly.  “We look like horses with horns, like you saw...but we can also take human form.  That day, I knew I’d never reach you in time as a human, so I...transformed.”

“You _transformed_...into a...a unicorn?” McGarrett said.

“I know, it sounds nuts.  But it’s true.  You saw what you saw...and you saw me,” Danny said, looking earnestly at his boss.

Steve met his gaze for a long moment, then said, “Okay, I believe you, Danno.  But...what’s going on?”

Danny let out a breath.  “The problem is...by letting you see me as a unicorn, I broke one of our most important laws.  Except for those chosen few the Council has named, we must _never_ let a human see us in unicorn form.”

“The Council?  Are you telling me there’s a unicorn _government_?” McGarrett demanded.  “And these people, they’re actually... _unicorns?_ ”  He looked around the clearing with renewed speculation.

“Yeah.  This Gathering is for my trial.  Judge, jury, audience, all unicorns,” Danny explained.  “That’s why they’re dressed this way.  Unicorns don’t feel the same psychological need for clothing unless they spend a lot of time around humans.  Also, it’s inconvenient to be dressed if you want to transform.”

“Are you two unicorns, too?” Steve demanded of Nathaniel and Thomas.  “Everyone else here looks like they’re in some sort of naturist commune, but you look like lawyers.”

“We _are_ lawyers,” Nathaniel told him.  “We’re Dan’s counsel.  We also work as lawyers among the humans, and we thought he might feel more comfortable seeing us in the costume of the trade.”

“Very realistic,” McGarrett said drily.  “So, this is a unicorn court.  Who’s in charge?”

Nathaniel gestured towards one of the groups conferring across the clearing.  “The tall blonde is Fiona, the Regional Governor for the Western United States.  She will be the judge at Dan’s trial.”

“This trial--If he’s found guilty, what is the penalty for his crime?” Steve demanded.

“They’re charging him with premeditatedly revealing himself to a human,” the lawyer said seriously.  “The penalty is very severe.  It can be permanent exile, or even death.”

“ _Death?_ ” McGarrett exclaimed.  “And what is permanent exile?”

“The unicorn’s horn is surgically removed.  As a result, he transforms to his human state, and can never again regain his true form,” Nathaniel said grimly.  “Some consider it a penalty worse than death, but....”

Danny broke in.  “Nathaniel, why is Steve here?  And what’s with the furniture and everyone in human form?  I’d have thought for _me_ they’d do the opposite.”

“We don’t know.  It’s all extremely unusual.  Possibly your lover is only here to serve as a witness, but for someone in a position of power in the human world to see so much of our society...I worry they cannot risk letting him go afterwards,” Nathaniel said.

“ _Lover?_ ” McGarrett demanded.

“ _You think they’ll kill him?_ ” Danny exclaimed at the same time.

“He is not your lover?” Nathaniel asked Danny, raising his eyebrows in surprise.  “But you revealed yourself to save him!”

“Remember their rules,” Thomas told his partner gently.

“Oh...that is right.  By the rules of human society, because you are both males, you are not permitted to mate.”  Nathaniel turned to Steve and said, “Our people believe differently.  We may enjoy love wherever we find it.   Thomas here is not my partner only in the law,” he added, putting his arm around the other man.

Danny felt his face growing red, and didn’t dare look at his boss.  _If they don’t kill us tonight, how will I ever explain this to Steve?_ he thought desperately.

“As I was saying, I believe that given what Steve has seen, they will not let him go free,” Nathaniel told Danny, oblivious to his embarrassment.  “One in his position in human society could be very dangerous to us, a far greater threat than the criminal who gave the interview to the newspaper.  Officially, unicorn law enforcement has no jurisdiction over humans, but unofficially we all know that sometimes they feel it is necessary to...take steps.  As officers of the court we are under strict obligations to uphold our laws, but we feel that this should not extend to extra-legal actions of the Council Enforcers.”

“What can we do?” Danny asked worriedly, sneaking a glance at Steve, who was looking somewhat stunned.

“Thomas and I will try to make a chance for you.  When we do, the two of you must get away,” Nathaniel said, exchanging a look with his partner, who nodded in agreement.  “There’s something going on here that I don’t understand, and I don’t like it.  The Council already has enough blood on its hands, in these Islands and elsewhere.”

“Nathaniel, Thomas, thank you.  I know the penalties if they decide you conspired to free me,” Danny said seriously.  He turned to McGarrett.  “Steve, if I get a chance, I’ll transform, and we’ll try to get out of here.  Have you ever ridden bareback?”

“Never with my hands tied, but I think I can handle it,” Steve said with a grim smile.

“Now, in case that plan doesn’t work, we’d better discuss your defense,” Nathaniel said briskly.  “Steve, if you wouldn’t mind waiting for us over there at the defense table?” he invited with a wave toward a small folding table that seemed inadequate to the title.

* * *

A short time later, McGarrett, sitting on a metal chair beside his second-in-command, looked around in wonderment at the proceedings that were taking shape.  They seemed oddly informal, perhaps because the human trappings were all clearly temporary.  What appeared to be the judges’ bench was formed from a huge fallen tree whose upper surface had been flattened.  Moss and fern grew about it, the natural elements a stark contrast to the rows of folding chairs set out for the audience and the pair of card tables, one at each end of the tree.  Danny, Steve, and the two lawyers sat behind one, a small, dark-haired unicorn who was presumably the prosecutor behind the other.

 _It’s hard to believe.  These are all unicorns?_ Danno _is a unicorn?  And this is a courtroom?_   Steve thought.  But what kept intruding over all was, _Can it possibly be true that Danny feels...like that...about me?  He didn’t deny it when the lawyer brought it up._

Various unicorns in human form were taking seats, filling the places behind the bench and the rows of chairs for the audience.  As he watched them, Steve realized that there was a certain _something_ about them all, something attractive, regardless of their physical appearances.  With a shock, he recognized it as something he’d seen in Dan Williams since they’d first met.  _It draws people to him.  How he looks and his personality certainly don’t hurt, but he’s always had this indefinable quality about him_.  _I think after this if I meet a unicorn in human form, I’ll know it.  If there_ is _an ‘after this,’ of course...._

The proceedings looked to be nearly ready to begin when suddenly Thomas jumped to his feet, staring fixedly into the forest.

“What was that?” he cried.  He ran into the trees, pursued by Nathaniel, both still in human form.  Others followed them, some as humans, and some transforming first with a series of sharp reports as the air around them was displaced.

Steve had no time to wonder at the effect or the sight of the unicorns.  As the clearing erupted into chaos, Danny transformed, bits of maroon pyjamas flying outward from his equine form.  He knelt in obvious invitation, and Steve mounted him.

The chestnut unicorn wheeled and galloped back down the track they had entered from, in the opposite direction to the one Thomas had taken.  McGarrett leaned low over his mount’s neck, clinging tightly with his legs and twining his fingers in the curly mane.

They hadn’t gone far when sounds of pursuit came from behind them, and Danny increased his pace to one that seemed foolhardy over the narrow and uneven trail, whipping around trees and springing over fallen logs.

 _If we can just reach the road, get down to where there’s traffic, surely they won’t risk showing themselves,_ Steve thought, finding it easier than expected to stay with his mount’s sudden moves despite the lack of saddle or bridle.  _I suppose we’re used to being attuned to each others’ reactions as humans...._

As they rocketed around a curve, he looked back over his shoulder briefly, alarmed to see unicorns pursuing them, two of them carrying human-form riders with ropes.  As the fleeing pair neared the beginning of the trail, one of the unicorns behind them gave a sharp whinnying call.

 _There must be guards left by the road,_ McGarrett thought grimly as his mount gave a snort of alarm.

Four more unicorns came into view running toward them up the trail from the direction of the road.

Danny stopped abruptly, nearly pitching Steve off over his shoulder.  He wheeled and plunged off the path, but the check had allowed the pursuing group to catch up, the riders readying their ropes.  Crashing desperately through the forest growth until a vine caught one of his hind feet, he was jerked to a stop, falling, his passenger thrown through the air.

McGarrett tried ineffectually to catch himself with his bound hands.  Pain exploded through his arm, then his forehead hit the ground, and everything went black.


	3. The Trial Begins

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So...what with one thing and another that was a bit more of a hiatus than I had intended. Thank you to everyone for bearing with me. ^^;
> 
> I am very grateful to [](http://archiveofourown.org/users/BuffyRowan/profile)[Buffy](http://archiveofourown.org/users/BuffyRowan) for beta-reading and advice!

Steve leaned painfully against the trunk of the tree, watching the standoff between Danny and his foes.

There was a sudden movement.  Two of the other unicorns had charged in unison.  Their bodies collided, and Steve saw a line of red blossom on his second-in-command’s chestnut shoulder as it was raked by a horn.  Danny reared up, and the three of them struggled fiercely, kicking, biting, and slashing with their horns.

A voice cut across their angry snorts and squeals.  “Stop this at once!” ordered Fiona, arriving on the scene in human form astride a huge black unicorn stallion.

Danny’s opponents fell back, pawing the ground in frustration.

Fiona looked down at Steve.  “My orders were that the human was not to be harmed!  You have further damaged him.”

One of the attacking unicorns launched into a sequence of snorts and whinnies.

“If you had done your job guarding them, he would not have had the _opportunity_ to fall!” she snapped.  “Now,” she said, turning to Danny, who still stood between the others and McGarrett, his sides heaving from exertion.  “I give you my personal guarantee that if you accompany us back to the court the human will not be further harmed in any way.”

Danny turned and lowered his head to Steve, whinnying anxiously.

“I’m okay, Danno,” his boss assured him.  “But I think my arm is broken.”

“Untie him,” Fiona ordered one of the Enforcers in human form.  “Carefully.  Is there anyone here with medical training?”  she asked, looking around at the increasingly large group of gathered unicorns.

An Enforcer with a knife approached Danny, who reluctantly let him past to McGarrett, still sitting propped against the tree trunk.

As the rope fell away and his left arm moved, Steve had to stifle a cry of pain.

“I’m a nurse,” said a young female unicorn in a simple flowered dress, stepping forward.  “My name is Lauren,” she told Steve as she examined his arm with gentle hands.  He winced as she probed his forearm.

“I can’t tell if it’s broken without an X-ray.  But it won’t hurt to splint it, just in case.  Someone bring me two straight sticks, about this long,” she gestured, “and I’ll need something to tie it with.”

One of the Enforcers brought her the sticks, and a young female unicorn stepped forward and took off the belt of her robe, offering it to the other woman and letting the garment fall open with a complete lack of self-consciousness.

Steve gritted his teeth as the unicorn nurse used the sticks and belt to efficiently splint his arm.  Commandeering a robe and tearing off a wide strip, she rigged a sling.

“This should help until you can get proper medical care,” she told him.  “I’m sorry I don’t have my bag with me.”

“Thank you,” Steve said.  _This just gets more surreal every minute,_ he thought.

“Now, if he’s ready, let’s go,” Fiona said briskly.

An enforcer helped the head of Five-O to his feet, where he stood, somewhat unsteadily.  Danny knelt in front of him, but Steve said, “Wait!  He’s injured, too,” pointing at Danny’s shoulder, dripping red from the long cut across it.

Danny whinnied something.

“He says it’s nothing,” Fiona translated.  “Let’s go,” she ordered again.

“I doesn’t look like ‘nothing’!” McGarrett protested.

Danny nudged Steve’s uninjured arm to urge him to mount, whickering softly, and Steve gave in and carefully climbed on, wincing as he jostled his arm.  He gave the chestnut neck a pat, then once again buried his good hand in the curly mane.

They returned to the clearing at a much more sedate pace, Danny limping slightly, preceded and followed by Enforcers in unicorn form.  The narrow path wound between vine-covered trees, the moonlight filtering through the moving leaves to create deceptive patches of light and shadow.  _It’s a wonder Danny managed to get us as far as he did at such a speed,_ Steve thought.

Back under the lights of the clearing, Danny knelt carefully for Steve to climb off.  The two stood together, Steve leaning on Danny’s shoulder for support, as the other unicorns filtered back into the clearing.

Steve watched with interest as many of those in unicorn form changed to human, the clearing full of sharp reports.  _It’s hard to get used to seeing that.  I wonder if this is all the unicorns on the island?  No young children, but otherwise they seem to be pretty well assorted._

A group of teenage girls nearby were giggling and sending Danny and Steve sidelong glances as they re-tied each others’ hair ribbons.  Surveying the crowd as it naturally formed conversational groupings Steve registered middle aged couples, senior citizens, a group of boys with deep tans who looked like surfers.  F _unny how much harder it is to tell everyone’s station in life without the clothing,_ he mused as he and his partner made their way slowly back to the card table at the end of the fallen tree where they had been sitting before the escape attempt.

They walked through a general swell of talk, unicorns in human form chatting as discarded robes were reclaimed and shaken off.  _No one seems to be in a huge hurry to dress,_ Steve observed.  _Though there are some who never changed, and some who haven’t changed back.  I wish I understood more about this society.  Wait…I_ know _her,_ he thought with a shock of recognition, as a young woman walked past.  _She’s a teller at my bank.  I wonder how many unicorns I see every day?  Interesting that they all seem to resemble their human forms a bit, at least superficially.  No wonder Danny’s mane is curly…so strange to be thinking of him like that._

Once at the table, Steve sank down gratefully into a chair beside Thomas, Danny standing beside him.

“I’m sorry,” Thomas said softly, as Nathaniel reappeared from the crowd, also taking a seat.

Danny answered with a series of snorts and whinnies, and Nathaniel, looking over at Steve said, “Mr. McGarrett is safe then, at least.”

“Her word is good?”  Steve asked.

“Yes.  I don’t necessarily trust her administration or agree with its policies, but I’d say her word is good,” Nathaniel said.

Thomas nodded.  “She gave it formally in front of witnesses.  She wouldn’t dare go back on it.”

Fiona herself appeared from the crowd, taking a seat behind the tree trunk bench, where she was joined by six other unicorns in human form, four female, two male, all dressed, but otherwise assorted in age and appearance.  When all six had taken their places, she rapped on the bench with a smoothly polished green stone in an attempt to bring the excited crowd to order.

“Everyone!  Take your seats and your human forms!”  she commanded, rapping again.  There was a burst of sharp sounds as the remaining members of the audience transformed, most taking their seats without clothing.

After relative quiet was finally achieved Fiona announced, “We are taking the unusual step of conducting this trial entirely in our human forms so that the defendant’s human lover can understand the proceedings.”

Nathaniel cleared his throat and got to his feet to address the judge.  “Er…he and the defendant are not actually lovers.  The human taboos....”

“Dan put himself in mortal jeopardy for one who can never be his mate?” she looked at Danny, shaking her head.  “I am sorry.  We failed you when we left you to grow up among humans”

Danny whinnied something that sounded indignant.

“I’m sure your aunt is a wonderful woman, but you should have been with your own kind,” Fiona said.  “Now, if you would please transform, we can get underway.”

The chestnut unicorn made a noise of protest, looking over at Steve.

“Let him see what he is missing,” the Regional Governor said with a small smile.  “Now, change!” she commanded.

 _That’s right, he’s not wearing clothing anymore,_ McGarrett suddenly realized.  The unicorn reared, he heard a *pop* of inrushing air, and suddenly Danny stood before him naked, his face flushed.  Steve quickly looked away as his second-in-command came to sit in the chair next to him, then turned back in concern.

“Danno, are you okay?” he asked.  The cut on the young man’s shoulder looked just as nasty on his human form, and his right arm was covered with blood.

“I’m fine, Steve,” his partner assured him, not meeting Steve’s eyes as he tried to cover himself with his hands in his lap.

 _I’ve never actually seen him undressed before.  He’s certainly very...._ McGarrett cut off his train of thought, quickly averting his eyes again.

“This court is now in session,” Fiona declared, rapping on the bench.  “The charge is that Dan intentionally and premeditatedly revealed himself to two humans.  How does the defendant plead?”

Nathaniel stepped forward and addressed the Regional Governor and the six unicorns arrayed beside her behind the bench.  “He admits to the charge, but claims mitigating circumstances.”

“Very well,” Fiona said.  “Prosecution, please make your statement.”

The prosecutor, wearing a dark blue robe, stepped forward from behind his table.  “The defendant intentionally revealed himself to two humans, one of whom has attempted to spread knowledge of our existence,” he said, pacing the length of the bench.  “This action was obviously part of a premeditated plan to disarm the human criminal. Saving the life of a _human_ , who by _counsel’s own admission_ is not only not the defendant’s mate, but not even his lover, is no justification in the eyes of Unicorn law.”  He paused to let his point sink in, casting his eyes over the audience.  “The defendant’s actions, undoubtedly the result of a desire for promotion or for the glory of capturing the human criminal, were completely irresponsible and put us all at risk.  For this extremely serious offense we thus request a sentence of permanent exile.”

“Thank you.  Defense?” Fiona said.

Nathaniel stepped forward once more.  “The defendant freely admits to revealing himself to two humans.  However, he denies the charge of premeditation.  He arrived on the scene to find Steve McGarrett, the human he loves, in mortal peril and acted in the only way he could to save his beloved’s life.  The damage was minimal, as the humans believe that the human criminal’s wounds were caused by some type of animal, and no one is giving credence to his wild story of a unicorn.  Therefore, the defendant throws himself on the mercy of this court and requests the lightest possible sentence.”

“Very well,” Fiona told him.  “Theodore, do you have any witnesses?” she asked the prosecutor.

“I have no witnesses, but I wish to enter this newspaper article into the record,” he said, stepping forward to hand Fiona a folded paper.

“In the ‘Local Interest’ section, I see,” she observed, reading, “ ‘Are unicorns real?  Accused smuggling kingpin Patrick Loren claims the injuries he suffered while being apprehended by Hawaii Five-O were in fact caused by none other than a mythical beast.  He says this _unicorn,_ which he described as looking just like a horse with a horn, charged him and stabbed him with that appendage.  He further claims that the head of Five-O also witnessed the beast in question.  However, when pressed for comment, Steve McGarrett was more inclined to laugh at this story than confirm it.’ ”

“There you see it,” Theodore said, with a sweeping gesture.  “Our existence, revealed to the humans, in black and white.”

“The article is duly entered into the record.  Defense, call your first witness,” Fiona ordered.

“We call Dan Williams,” Nathaniel said.

“Dan, step forward and address the court,” Fiona instructed.

Throwing a last desperate look at Steve, Danny stood and crossed to join Nathaniel in front of the bench, looking as though he were prepared to face a firing squad.


	4. The Verdict

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OK, that didn't seem like five months. I'm pretty sure aliens stole some of my time. Anyway, that's my story, and I'm sticking to it. ^^;
> 
>  
> 
> I am again extremely grateful to [](http://archiveofourown.org/users/BuffyRowan/profile)[Buffy](http://archiveofourown.org/users/BuffyRowan) for beta-reading and advice.
> 
>  
> 
> And I very much hope that [](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Janet/profile)[Senzarit](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Janet/pseuds/senzarit) is still enjoying the Unicorns!
> 
>  
> 
> My thanks to everyone who has persevered in reading and reviewing! I appreciate you more than I can say. I promise that I will never leave a story unfinished. (Barring sudden zombies or meteor impact. Hm, I guess I should get around to setting up my [Fannish Next of Kin](http://archiveofourown.org/tos_faq#specialized_faq)....)

“Do you give your solemn oath before this Court and in the presence of the land and those gathered here to tell only the truth?” Fiona asked.

“I do,” Danny said quietly.

Nathaniel turned to him.  “Dan, when did you first know Steve was in trouble?”

“I was on my way to join him.  We were going to meet Loren’s girlfriend at the clearing.  She’d been passing us information, and she finally agreed to take us to where he’d stashed the goods,” Danny said.

“What happened?” Nathaniel asked.

“I was delayed.  There was an accident blocking the Kam, and it took a while for the road to be cleared,” Danny said.

“So Steve went without you?”

“Yes.  I wanted him to wait until I could get there, or until HPD backup could arrive, but the girl was frightened, and Steve was afraid she would take off,” Danny said.  “He radioed me that he was going, that I should join him when I could.”

“Then what happened?” Nathaniel prompted.

“A few minutes after I heard from Steve I got a radio message from Kono.  He was watching Loren’s headquarters, and he spotted the girlfriend _there_ , in _town_.  She wasn’t waiting for us, never _had_ been.  I knew it had to be an ambush, and _Steve_ …of course he’d be careful, but not knowing what he was walking into….”  Danny took a deep breath, looking over at McGarrett for the first time.

“What did you do?”

“I floored it, of course, but Steve had a head start.  I knew I would be too late.  But if there was any chance at all, I _had_ to try, to do _anything_ I could to save him.  I…when I got to the trail head, I didn’t even think.  I knew I could run faster as a unicorn, so I transformed.”

Nathaniel asked, “Did you have a plan for what you were going to do?”

“If I was in time, if Loren didn’t...didn’t kill him right away, I planned to create a diversion without showing myself.  But when I got there….” Danny shuddered.  “Loren had his finger on the trigger, Steve was too far away to jump him, and there was nothing else I could do.”

“So, far from being premeditated, revealing yourself was something you had planned _not_ to do, until circumstances forced your hand,” Nathaniel summed up.

 He glanced over at Steve, then stepped closer to Danny.  “Now comes the issue of why you revealed yourself.  I apologize for asking about such a personal matter, but I’m afraid it’s necessary.”

Danny faced him, obviously bracing himself for what was to come.

“Do you love the human Steve McGarrett?” the lawyer asked.  “And I remind you that you are bound by oath to be truthful to this court.”

Taking a deep breath, Danny began, “I....”

“Please answer the question,” Nathaniel prompted him gently.

“Yes,” Danny said softly.  “I love him.”

“And are the two of you mated, then?” Nathaniel asked.

“No.”

“Why not?”

“Steve...doesn’t feel the same way about me,” Danny said.

“No further questions,” Nathaniel said, returning to the defense table.

“Prosecution, do you have questions for this witness?”  Fiona asked.

Theodore stepped forward.  “So, your plan was to ‘create a diversion’,” he said skeptically.

“I thought I’d try to give the impression that someone on horseback was about to find the clearing.  I knew if I could just distract Loren for a minute, Steve would be able to get the upper hand,” Danny said.  “But when I got there, his finger was already on the trigger….”  He shuddered.

“You seem awfully sure of your human lover’s abilities.  But wait...he’s _not_ your lover, is he?” Theodore asked, turning to the audience with a smirk.

“No,” Danny said flatly.

“Yet you say you love him?” the prosecutor demanded.

“Yes,” he answered quietly.

“Have you ever told him this?”

“No.”

“Why not?”  Theodore raised his eyebrows.

“I...I knew he didn’t feel the same way.  He couldn’t....” Danny said miserably.

“The human taboo?  You expect us to believe that you violated our most important law and are now facing exile on behalf of a human you _knew_ would never love you in return?”

“It doesn’t matter how he feels.  His life is still the most important thing to me.”

“If you say so....” Theodore said with a snort.  “I will leave it to the court to decide whether this pathetic declaration can possibly justify your behavior.  I have no further questions.”  He turned away, shaking his head.

“The witness is excused,” Fiona said.  “Defense, do you have any other witnesses?”

Danny turned and walked slowly back towards Steve, staring resolutely at the ground, his face flushed, looking completely humiliated.

“I call Steve McGarrett,” Nathaniel said, “Noting that as a human he is not bound by our laws and appears here for the defense only as a corroborative witness to the facts at hand.”

Steve stood, and, as he passed Danny, gave him a pat on the shoulder, startled momentarily by the feeling of bare skin under his hand.  _That was an awful thing for them to put him through,_ he thought.  _How long has he felt this way about me?  And...and exactly how do I feel about him?  But now isn’t the time to think about that.  I can only guess what exile means to a unicorn, but the idea of them mutilating him...if they do that, and they let me go, I will make it my mission in life to track them down and bring them to justice._

Nathaniel brought a chair forward.  “Because of his injuries,” he explained to Fiona, receiving a nod.

McGarrett took a seat.

Nathaniel began.  “Mr. McGarrett, we have heard from Dan that you were in imminent peril when he arrived at the clearing.”

“Yes,” Steve said.  “Loren was done gloating about how he lured me there and was about to pull the trigger when the…when Detective Williams appeared.”

“When he appeared the first time, in his true form, that is?” Nathaniel clarified.

“His tr…well, he looked like a horse with a horn,” Steve said.

“But that’s not what you said in your report, is it?”

“No, of course not. I simply reported that Patrick Loren was attacked by a large, horned animal.  Everyone knows that unicorns are mythical beasts,” McGarrett said with a ghost of a smile.

“And with your help, we’ll keep it that way,” Nathaniel ended smoothly.  “Thank you for your testimony, Mr. McGarrett.”

“I thank you as well,” Fiona said.  “Prosecution, any questions for the witness?”

As he watched Nathaniel return to his seat at the defense table as the prosecutor stepped forward, Steve thought, _I’ve testified at a lot of trials, but this is by far the strangest.  Some of the audience is naked, we’re outside on folding chairs, the judge has a rock for a gavel, and I’m in my pyjamas with a broken arm. It’s hard to remember that the consequences are the same...a man’s life is at stake.  Danno’s life...._

Theodore stopped beside Steve’s chair, looking down at the head of Five-O with raised eyebrows.  “So, _this_ is the object of Dan’s undying affection.”

Steve turned to face the prosecutor, his mouth set in an angry line.

“No comment on that?  Did you know about this great love he has apparently been harboring for you?” Theodore asked, circling so Steve had to crane his neck to follow him.

“No.  He could never dare risk revealing something like that, even to a close friend, and certainly not to his boss.  It would ruin him if it got out.  In _human_ society,” Steve added drily.

“So you’re ‘close friends’?  But not lovers, of course.”

“No,” Steve said flatly.

“I think most people would agree he’s an attractive young man,” Theodore said, looking over at Danny.  His voice became insinuating. “Now that you know…are you thinking of…giving it a try?”

“Objection!”  Nathaniel stood, stepping forward.  “This entire line of questioning has no bearing on the direct examination of this witness and is merely the prosecutor’s attempt to further embarrass my client.”

“Sustained,” Fiona said crisply.

“If the court pleases, I merely want to point out the absurdity of Dan’s supposed love when the entire concept would by his own admission be repugnant to the _human_ object thereof,” Theodore protested.

“You know the law.  Limit your questions to what he saw and reported,” Fiona ordered.

Theodore shrugged theatrically.  “Then, I have no further questions for this witness.”

“Very well,” Fiona said.  “The witness is excused.”

As Steve returned to his seat beside Danny it tore at his heart to see the look of pain on his second-in-command’s face.  Danny was still looking resolutely down, his expression implying that he would like nothing more than for the ground to open and swallow him up.

Fiona was continuing.  “If there are no further witnesses, the court will retire to deliberate,” she said, banging her rock before rising and leaving the clearing, followed by the six other unicorns from behind the table.

“Danno....” Steve began gently, but was interrupted by Nathaniel returning to the table.

McGarrett turned to the lawyer.  “What are his chances?” he demanded.

“I think there’s a decent chance they’ll grant the mitigating circumstances and give him a lesser sentence,” Nathaniel said.  “Dan...we’re sorry we had to ask you about Steve.  But it was important to show your motivation.”

“I...I know,” Danny said quietly.  “Thank you, both of you, for trying to help me.”

“We were glad to be assigned to your case,” the silvery-haired lawyer assured him, somehow managing to look elegant and at ease even perched on a folding chair.  “We specialize in Unicorn Rights.”

“It doesn’t seem like there are many,” McGarrett snapped.  “Hearsay evidence, no protection against self-incrimination, no time to prepare a case....”

“It’s certainly not an ideal system,” Nathaniel said.  “But considering the burden of secrecy we live under, an ideal system simply isn’t possible.”

“Nathaniel and I try through our work to ensure that only the most necessary compromises are made,” Thomas said.

“And _this_ is the result?” Steve demanded.

“This trial is not really catching us at our best,” Nathaniel admitted.  “It’s all rather irregular.”

As the waiting stretched on, McGarrett tried to find a comfortable way to sit.  His head throbbed, his face hurt, and above all the pain in his arm was becoming impossible to ignore.  “I don’t suppose either of you have anything so human as aspirin on you?” he asked the lawyers.

Before they could answer, there was a sudden stir in the clearing.  Fiona and the other deliberators had returned.  _No human court would move this swiftly,_ Steve thought as the Regional Governor banged her rock for silence.  “We have reached a verdict.  Dan, approach the court.”

Danny stood up and walked over to stand in front of the table, flanked by Nathaniel and Thomas, and followed unbidden by Steve, who leaned for support on the back of the chair that still remained before the bench.

Fiona stood and addressed them.  “Dan Williams, this court finds you guilty of allowing two humans to see your true form.  We however find that there was no premeditation and that you have the mitigating circumstance of defense of a loved one.  We hereby sentence you to twelve lashes, to be received in human form.”

There was a sudden swell of excited conversation from the crowd.

Steve turned to Nathaniel.  “What does she mean, ‘lashes’?” he demanded.  “What kind of barbaric society is this?”

“Mr. McGarrett, we live secretly, either among humans or in the deepest forests,” the lawyer told him.  “We have no jails, no means of incarceration.  All punishments must be carried out swiftly.”

As though to demonstrate his point, a group of the Council Enforcers had started towards Danny as soon as they heard Fiona’s sentence.

Steve stepped in front of Danny, holding the folding chair in his good hand.  “You may be unicorns, but as long as you’re in Hawaii, you’re in _my_ jurisdiction!” he snapped.  “And if any of you lay a finger on him, I will prosecute you for assault to the fullest extent of the law!”  Steve shifted his grip on the chair as the Enforcers closed in.

“Steve!” Danny exclaimed, “You can’t....”

“Everyone, _stop!_ ” Fiona ordered, banging her rock.  At her command the Enforcers fell back.  McGarrett stayed where he was, standing protectively in front of his second-in-command.

Fiona looked at him with a small smile.  “Steve,” she said, “Or, I suppose in the human way I should say, “Mr. McGarrett”...you are prepared to do battle at odds of ten to one, with a broken arm, wielding nothing but a chair, to defend Dan.  Are you _sure_ you don’t love him?”

Steve glared at her, leaning on his chair.  “My feelings are none of your business!” he snapped.

“If everyone could remain calm for a moment,” she began, “I am prepared to offer Dan a suspended sentence on one condition.”

“What condition?” McGarrett demanded.

“It depends on you,” she told the angry detective.  “This is the reason you were brought here, why we revealed our society to you.  We need your help.”

“You need my _help_?  And _this_ is how you ask for it?” Steve said incredulously, looking down at his broken arm, then over at Danny, standing naked with blood still oozing from the cut on his shoulder.

Fiona said, “Please, sit down, and I will explain.”  She resumed her own seat behind the bench.

The head of Five-O set the chair down and sat, glaring at the Regional Governor.

“First, I am very sorry that you and Dan were injured.  It was against my express orders.”  She glared across the clearing at the group of enforcers.  “I did not think they would have so much trouble dealing with a single human.”

“What exactly is it you want from me?” Steve asked.  The world was beginning to go a bit gray at the edges.

“I will make this brief, so you can receive the medical care you require.  Over the past six months there have been four murders in the Hawaiian Islands.  They are being investigated as isolated incidents, because you in the human police could see no connection between the victims.  The connection is that they were all unicorns living in human society,” she told him.  “Because of the latter fact, we have been unable to mount an effective investigation ourselves, as we have no access to important evidence.  This is why, when we learned the identity of the man to whom Dan revealed himself, we decided to bring you here.”

“What do you want me to do?” Steve asked.

“Investigate the murders using the information we give you.  Simply do that, and Dan will receive a full pardon for his crime,” she said.

“I’m a cop.  Investigating crimes is what we do, and we’re glad to have any information that might help.  But I _resent_ being abducted and threatened,” McGarrett snapped, getting to his feet and stabbing his right forefinger at her for emphasis.  He blinked, and swayed as a wave of pain and dizziness overtook him.  Danny quickly stepped to his side and helped him back into the chair.

“Thanks, Danno,” he said quietly.

“Again, I apologize,” Fiona said.  “We were afraid that if we came to you, revealed ourselves to you, with no lever, that we could not be sure we could trust you not to give away our secret.  I am afraid that our kind are forced to be paranoid about such things.  Resentment aside, do you accept our terms?” she asked, sounding slightly anxious.

“Yes,” McGarrett told her flatly.  “With one condition.  When the killer or killers are apprehended, they go to a human court for trial.”

“That may not be possible,” Fiona said.  “If the killer is a unicorn, a human trial could bring out things that must be kept hidden.  I promise you, however, that any humans will be left to your justice.”

“No.  This is my jurisdiction, and I’m not yielding anyone, human or unicorn, to another court,” the head of Five-O declared.

Fiona appeared to consider this for a minute.  She sighed.  “Very well.  They will be yours, Mr. McGarrett,” she said.

_She’s lying,_ he thought.  _But we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.  Right now I have to go along with this, for Danno’s sake...._

Fiona continued, “Someone from our law enforcement will be come to your office on Monday morning to tell you all we know about the case, but for now, here is a list of the names,” she said, taking a slip of paper from her pocket and handing it across the bench to Danny.  “Now, Nathaniel, perhaps you could drive Steve and Dan to one of our doctors.  The human emergency room would ask too many questions.”

Steve stood up with an effort.  Nathaniel’s reply seemed to come from a great distance, but he made out, “Of course.  Dr. Toshiro should be on call.”  As the world closed in, the last thing he heard was Danny’s voice calling his name.


	5. In the Aftermath

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'd like to thank [](http://archiveofourown.org/users/BuffyRowan/profile)[Buffy](http://archiveofourown.org/users/BuffyRowan) for beta-reading and advice, and for motivating me to actually post.
> 
>  
> 
> And, of course, thanks to everyone reading for your patience and encouragement!

The sound of a car door slamming brought Steve’s mind back to present awareness.  _How did I get here?_   _Right…._ He remembered vaguely being helped onto  the back of a horse… _no, that was Danno…_ then passing through the forest on the path back to the road at a much more sedate speed than on their previous attempt.

He realized that he was folded awkwardly into what must be the back seat of a car, his head resting against someone’s… _Danno’s_ …shoulder. The car was moving now, and he could hear voices.

The lawyer Thomas was saying, “…wish we’d brought my car instead of the Cit so there’d be room for him to lie down.”

Danny’s voice from over his head, sharp with worry.  “He needs to go to the emergency room!”

“Don’t worry, the clinic has everything needed.  It’s intended as a place for us to go when a human hospital would be awkward,” came Nathaniel’s reassurance.

Steve opened his eyes and struggled to sit up.  “I’m fine.”

“Just relax and stay still,” Danny said, trying to steady him.

The car took a sharp corner and bumped over a pothole, knocking Steve into the car door and sending another wave of pain crashing over him.

When it receded, he opened his eyes to realize that he was held securely in Danny’s arms, his face resting against soft fabric and warm skin. _A bathrobe or something?  He must have borrowed it,_ he thought irrelevantly.

The car swayed onward while he turned over the events of the evening. Being taken from his bed and driven blindfolded to the forest, the unicorn court, Danny standing naked, declaring his love...he found it difficult to drag his mind away from that image. _Ironic that the most surprising thing I learned about Danno tonight was_ not _that he was a unicorn,_ Steve thought ruefully.  _Of course Fiona was right.  I care about him.  He’s…important to me.  But there can never be anything more between us._

Steve looked over at the dark glass of the side window, seeing Danny’s face reflected in it as he anxiously watched their progress through the forest. He found himself noticing the full curve of Danny’s lower lip, and, unbidden, the thought came to him, _I wonder what it would be like to kiss him?_ Somehow the sight of his second-in-command unclothed and the knowledge of his feelings had done odd things to Steve’s perceptions, and he had to fight a momentary urge to reach up and _find out_ what it was like to kiss him.  He closed his eyes, trying to halt this train of thought, but found the warmth of Danny’s chest similarly distracting.

The car stopped briefly, then took a sharp turn.  Steve let out a groan as he inadvertently moved his injured arm.

“Steve, are you okay?” Danny asked, tightening his hold.

“I’m fine, Danno,” McGarrett assured him.  “Just my arm getting to me.”

“We’re almost there,” Nathaniel said reassuringly, and Steve realized that they were once again in Honolulu, driving though city streets.  The car pulled up in front of a modern medical building, illuminated despite the late hour.

Dr. Toshiro turned out to be a slender Japanese woman with a long mane of shining dark hair, at least in her human form.  She ushered them into a perfectly normal looking examining room. “I understand you hit your head and were briefly unconscious,” she said to Steve, examining his eyes. “How do you feel? Headache, dizziness, blurred vision, nausea?”

“I was a little dizzy earlier, but that might have just been the pain from my arm,” McGarrett told her.  “Maybe a bit of a headache.”

“Hm.” She made a note on the clipboard she held.  “Let’s get some X-rays. My technician is going to demand overtime for being dragged out at night like this.”

Nathaniel, leaning against the wall of the exam room, assured her, “Fiona will cover the bill.”

While waiting for the X-rays to be developed, Dr. Toshiro stitched Danny’s cut and gave him a tetanus shot.  “Come back on Tuesday to have your stitches out,” she told him. “Until them, absolutely no transformation, or the wound will be reopened.”

The X-rays revealed, to McGarrett’s annoyance, that he had a fractured ulna, which the doctor immobilized in a plaster cast.

“It should be fine for you to go home as long as someone is with you to check on you at regular intervals during the night.  I assume Dan here can do that.”

Danny and Steve both started to say something, and then subsided, realizing that there was really no other option which wouldn’t require difficult explanations.

“Now, you should both go and get some rest.”

“Dr. Toshiro, thank you for coming in at this hour,” Nathaniel said as they took their leave.

“Naturally, Fiona’s wish is my command,” she said with a wry smile.

* * *

The white Citroen pulled up in front of Steve’s building.  “Will the two of you be okay?”  Thomas held the door as Steve climbed painfully out of the car.

“Danno and I can manage.”

Nathaniel handed him a card.  “If there’s anything at all you need, please call on us.”

“Stay in touch, anyway,” Thomas added.

“Thank you for all your help,” Danny said.  He followed Steve up the steps to the lobby door.

 _I hope we don’t run into anyone I know,_ Steve thought, catching sight of their reflection in the mirrored doors of the elevator. He was barefoot in muddy, torn pyjamas, Danny wore nothing but a bathrobe, and they both looked very much worse for wear.

Fortunately, the corridors were deserted.  Steve let them safely into his condo, left unlocked by his abductors earlier that evening, and closed the door behind them.  They stood awkwardly for a moment.

“Danno...I’m sure we both want to wash up.  Why don’t you take the shower first?” Steve suggested.  “I think there’s a new toothbrush in the cabinet over the sink.”

“Thanks, Steve,” Danny said, gratefully bolting for the bathroom and a temporary escape from having to face his boss.

Steve sighed and lowered himself into one of the living room armchairs, leaning back and closing his eyes.  The pain medication Dr. Toshiro had given him was making him feel slightly as though he were flying, which was not helping him in his efforts to reconcile the events of the evening with anything in his previous experience.

 _Unicorns exist.  They have their own government._ Danno _is a unicorn.  Danno...is in love with me?  And when he’s naked, he looks like...that...._ Steve drifted off into a light doze.

“Steve?” McGarrett felt a gentle hand on his shoulder.  “Are you okay?” He opened his eyes to a sight so similar to the one he had fallen asleep thinking of that he was momentarily startled.

He rubbed his eyes.  When he opened them again his second-in-command was still leaning over him looking concerned, but Steve realized he was actually wearing a towel wrapped around his waist.

“I’m sorry.  After what Dr. Toshiro said about checking on you, I just wanted to make sure....”

“Thanks, Danno.”  Steve found himself noticing that his partner’s skin was still damp from the shower, the towel hanging low on his hips…he abruptly realized where his thoughts were heading and reined them in.

Seeing the direction of Steve’s gaze Danny straightened, flushing a bit, and asked, “Do you think you could loan me some pyjamas?”

“Of course.” Steve climbed painfully to his feet and went to the bedroom, opening the second drawer of the dresser.  _These dark green silk ones should look nice on him...I mean, they should_ feel _nice on him...no, no, that’s not what I mean, either, of course,_ he thought, shaking his head to clear it, then regretting the action.

Back in the living room, he handed Danny, who was trying not to meet his eyes, the pyjamas and headed off to the shower, where he did his best to clean up while keeping his left arm out of the water.  _I’ll have to have my barber wash my hair properly.  I can’t exactly ask Danno to help me, even if he weren’t injured himself._

When Steve emerged from the bedroom in pyjamas and dressing gown, the living room was empty, and the sliding glass door to the lanai stood open. He stepped through into the soft tropical night.

Danny stood facing out over the city, his hands resting on the railing, the too-long cuffs of Steve’s pyjamas turned up at his wrists.  Even in profile Steve could see he didn’t look happy. “Danno?”

The young man started.  “I didn’t hear you come out.  Steve....” he began, looking down at his bare feet, “I’m really sorry about everything that happened tonight.”

“I told you before,” Steve said, coming to stand close beside Danny at the railing, “Everything that happened tonight was a result of you saving my life in that clearing.”

Danny turned to face out over the railing again.  “I know I can’t ask you to somehow forget what you heard. After the unicorns’ case is over, I’ll resign,” he said.  “Maybe take a job on the mainland....”

“I don’t want your resignation, Danno.  While the department’s non-discrimination policy wasn’t written with unicorns in mind, I’m quite sure your job description didn’t include a species requirement,” Steve said with a smile.

“You know that’s not why I have to go,” Danny said quietly, still determinedly looking out at the city.

“Danno, look at me.”

Danny turned towards Steve, the moonlight casting half his face in shadow.

“You don’t have to leave because of _anything_ that happened tonight.  We can go on as we were.”  _I don’t know if that’s true. To find this out, to know how he feels...but this is all we can have, and I don’t want to lose him...._ The thought filled him with a pain he was afraid to examine.

“Can we?” Danny asked, giving Steve a haunted look.  “Can you work with me, now that you know?”

“We have a case to solve, so we’re going to find out,” Steve said firmly. “But for now, let’s get some rest. It’s been a long evening.”

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Daydreams](https://archiveofourown.org/works/675238) by [BuffyRowan](https://archiveofourown.org/users/BuffyRowan/pseuds/BuffyRowan)




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